Accessory floor mats for overlying and protecting sections of the floor or original floor covering/carpeting are commonly used in automobiles, sports utility vehicles, trucks and other motor vehicles. In the past, such floor mats have often been made of an elastomeric material and those intended for driver's use have frequently been provided with numerous individual indentations in the top surface for catching dirt and moisture from off of the user's footwear.
A disadvantage of such mats is that in the event of protracted inclement weather such as snow, the individual recesses in the region of the heels of the driver's shoes can quickly become filled beyond capacity and overflow and wet the floor of the vehicle. Further, there is a risk that the heels of the shoes and also lower portions of the driver's clothing may come into contact with and be soiled or damaged by the retained water and dirt.
To overcome the above-described shortcomings, accessory floor mats have been designed with open top basin-like casings for receiving and securely engaging a removable grating or grill. The grill typically has apertures dimensioned to be so small that only dirt and water can pass therethrough. Further, in this construction, the entire volume of the casing rather than numerous independent recesses is available to be occupied by the water and dirt. This arrangement isolates and therefore protects the shoes and clothing of an occupant of the vehicle from contamination by the water and dirt collected in the bottom of the casing. The significant water holding capacity of the basin-like casing diminishes the chances of overflow and reduces the frequency at which the mat must be emptied. Moreover, accumulated material can easily be emptied out by removing the floor mat from the floor well, lifting off the grill, and then emptying the casing by tilting or turning over the floor mat. Accessory floor mats of this construction are described in United Kingdom patent GB 2127290B, European patent 0379630 and French patent 2617102.
Although such mats have proven effective in fulfilling their intended purpose, there emphasis on functionality rather than appearance has, so far, effectively limited the acceptance of these mats to the after market. In the original equipment market (i.e. accessory floor mats that are sold in conjunction with new vehicles) where there is a greater emphasis on aesthetic appeal, such accessory floor mats have not won wide acceptance. In addition, during those times of the year when the weather is less inclement and the need for protecting the user's footwear from excess moisture and contaminants is less prevalent, the existing accessory floor mats provide little flexibility, short of replacing the entire mat or set of mats in the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,759 discloses an automobile floor mat which is adaptable to different conditions of various seasons. This floor mat has a removable and reversible pan portion that snugly fits inside a central recessed area to collect contaminants. A first side of the pan portion has a plurality of spaced apart ridges forming individual grooves that are used to collect fluids or contaminants that adhere to the driver's feet such as salt, sand or snow, mostly during the winter. The other side of the reversible pan portion may also contain grooves, but preferably is made of an abrasive surface to scrape-off any contaminant adhering to the sole of the shoes. Such an abrasive surface may be sand paper or the like, to collect small contaminants that are adhering during the summer, such as dirt, sand or leaves. This construction, while allowing seasonal variation, does not address the aesthetic appearance need of the original equipment market and, because of its use of independent grooves would appear not to be as effective in isolating footwear and clothing from water and contaminants in the winter season as those which employ a grill.
A need thus persists for a motor vehicle accessory floor mat which preserves the functional advantages of existing mats that employ removable dirt and moisture pervious grills during periods of protracted inclement weather, while enhancing the aesthetic appeal of such mats during other seasons of the year.